This talk with Taeyoon Choi considers the intersection between computation and poetics, and code and care. Computation is poetic when technology is used for critical thinking and aesthetic inquiry – a space where logic meets electricity (hardware), math meets language (software) and analytical thinking meets creative experimentation. The School for Poetic Computation approaches writing code like creative writing — focusing on the mechanics of programming, the demystification of tools, and hacking the conventions of art-making with computation.

In 2018, Choi is working on “The Distributed Web of Care” – an initiative focusing on distribution instead of decentralization. The initiative prioritizes care instead of control. Care is a soft sense of responsibility and accountability, especially important in considering inclusion, accessibility and disability. The project asks – Can we code to care, and can we code carefully? Let’s think about care instead of control. Let’s think about person instead of user. Let’s try and unlearn instead of machine learn.